Friday, August 19, 2005

A Post from the Western Hemisphere

There's three kinds of people that others make fun of. Blondes, Sardars and Aggies. When I was born, I checked the color of my hair. I wasn't blond. I checked to see whether my dad wore a turban. I wasn't a Sardar. Just when I thought I'd never really be made fun of, I found myself in Texas A&M university, pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. I'm an aggie now. So, if you catch me looking at orange juice, it's only because it says 'concentrate' on it.
I'm in the heart of Aggieland right now: and it is impressive. My life has been some sort of gradient since sixth grade: I went to something only optimists would call a school; then to a hut they called 'junior college'. And then I went t0 IIT Madras - a place which is as impressive as they come in India. IIT Madras is awesome in its own right - and I fell in love with the library there. And now, in Texas A&M, things are just double the size of what they were in IIT! The library is MASSIVE, to say the least. And if I am not wrong, I'll probably find some playboys stacked under the 'culture' section somewhere.
One thing that struck me as mighty impressive about the USA, is how polite everyone is. Everybody, from the customs officials to the librarians have been nothing by polite and helpful. It's amazing what a good salary can do to people! Everyone's friendly here: howdys are interchanged almost all the time - especially in the university.
As of now, I'm on foot and that's a negative. Distances here are large. Period. If I need to get to class from my room, I'll need to walk for half an hour. Cycles have to be procured. And procured ASAP. Riding a bike to a grocery store will still be an issue: some sort of parasitic existence will have to be envisaged. I could piggyback on my aunt!
That's a posting about life here in College station. An impressive place. I have no Idea why they make fun of us Aggies. Maybe I'll wait and find out.

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